About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
In last week's post, I previewed the International AIDS Conference in Rome. This week I'd like to offer some brief reflections on the activity there, and what it means for our PEPFAR programs.
For those of us who have been working in this field for some time -- which in my case is about 30 years -- the mood in Rome was positive, with a palpable sense of encouragement. This was largely fueled by two things: new evidence of the long-term benefits of antiretroviral treatment efforts to date, and new scientific breakthroughs regarding the benefits of treatment for prevention. These developments are transforming the way we think about AIDS.
HIV/AIDS has had a devastating impact on life expectancy in many African countries, and in turn on their economic… more »
About the Author: John Echard serves as a Press Officer in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
@TravelGov turns three years old today and we wanted to celebrate our birthday with the Twitter community and our 150,000 followers. Originally created to provide U.S. citizens with country specific information, today, @TravelGov is the U.S. Government's authoritative tweet on international travel information.
• We tweet travel alerts, travel warnings, and important messages from our embassies and consulates. • In crisis situations, we tweet vital emergency information, such as evacuation plans and U.S. embassy… more »
During her visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in November 2010, Secretary Clinton announced the Pacific Women's Empowerment Initiative. She said, "Giving women access to education, health services, economic opportunities, and the structures of power is critical to alleviating poverty and disease in every part of the world. The United States is committed to working with you."
From May 31 to June 1, Embassy Port Moresby hosted Healthy Women, Healthy Economies. The State Department, including Embassy Port Moresby and the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues, teamed up with the PNG government and World Bank Group to organize the event.
We knew that logistics would be problematic. Flying anywhere in the Pacific takes time, effort, and money. Getting the women representatives… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered remarks at USAID's Saving Lives at Birth Development Exchange Awards Ceremony "77 Inventions That Could Save Moms and Babies" on July 28, 2011. The Secretary highlighted the major barriers to saving lives at birth and how ideas from the challenge issued in March 2011 work toward enhancing development and accomplishing positive changes.
Secretary Clinton said, "...We have a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of all of the changes that are occurring in the… more »
More than 11.5 million people -- primarily in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia -- are in need of emergency assistance in the Horn of Africa. The United States is concerned about the high malnutrition rates in the region -- particularly in southern and central Somalia and the attendant Somali refugee population. A large-scale multi-donor intervention is underway to prevent the further decline of an already dire situation, but there will be no quick fix. The United States is one of the largest donors of humanitarian assistance to the region, providing approximately $459 million this fiscal year to help those in need. This funding supports humanitarian assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and other drought affected populations, and builds near and longer term food security. Because emergency assistance will not solve the underlying long-term problems in the region,… more »
Did you know that India has been lifting satellites into orbit for more than 30 years? Or that India has the second largest fleet of satellites dedicated to earth sciences and earth observation after the United States? Given these burgeoning capabilities and the United States' storied history of space exploration and space science, it only seems natural that the world's largest and the world's oldest democracies would cooperate in space for the benefit of people in both our countries and around the world.
About the Author: Suzan D. Johnson Cook serves as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.
As the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, a big part of my job is combating religious intolerance and encouraging respect for religious diversity around the world. It is my belief that in order to live peacefully side by side, we cannot allow violence based on religion to continue under any circumstances. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of those injured and killed in Norway last week, and I join the President and Secretary in offering my deepest sympathies in this moment of sorrow. It is heart-wrenching to hear every day about violence committed in the name of religion or because of one's religious beliefs or lack of religious belief.
It is with this in mind that I want to share with you some of the ways that we are working to combat religious intolerance. During my recent trip to Istanbul, Turkey, I traveled with Secretary Clinton… more »
In a video message, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer encourages Americans -- who are underrepresented on the United Nation's staff -- to learn more about the UN 2011 Young Professionals Program (YPP) Examination and to explore the possibility of working for the United Nations. The YPP examination targets specific occupational fields. This year those fields are administration, humanitarian affairs, public information, and statistics. Applicants must meet age, education, and language criteria. The application period runs until September 10, and the examination will be held on December 7. You can learn more about the requirements and the application process by visiting the UN Careers website at careers.un.org. more »
We now know there are more than 11.5 million people -- primarily in Ethiopia, Kenya, and especially Somalia -- in need of emergency assistance.
Given the rapidly evolving humanitarian emergency in the region, I was encouraged to see so many countries convene so quickly in Rome for the ministerial-level meeting. There is no time to lose -- and meetings such as these must continue to bring the world's attention to… more »
About the Author: Alberto Rodriguez serves as Spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Ambassador Cameron Munter joined officials and residents of communities in FATA and Malakand today to mark the completion of a U.S. program to improve education in Northwest Pakistan. The event celebrated the success of the three-year ED-LINKS project which assisted more than 450,000 students in over 700 schools in the region.
"Our shared efforts to improve education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and FATA are a symbol of Pakistani and U.S. friendship. More important, our work will build a better tomorrow for future generations of Pakistanis," said Ambassador Munter.
Education Minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Babak Hussain, U.S. Agency for International Development Mission Director Andrew Sisson, and residents of FATA and Malakand also attended the ceremony. This project was funded by USAID.
"There could be no better way to help Pashtuns… more »
DipNote is the official blog of the U.S. Department of State —a place to share stories, discuss experiences, and inspire new ideas on the important foreign policy issues of the day. more »
Across the eastern Horn of Africa, more than 11 million people -- a number greater than the populations of Houston and New York City combined -- are now in need of emergency assistance to survive. Learn more about the current crisis, including how you can help.
India, reduce the gap between rich and poor people, if the economy falls into a moment seongjanghu think it would change. Get rid of farmers' debt, such…
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July 29: As a supporter of the 100,000 Strong Initiative and to highlight the overall importance of educational and cultural ties between the United States and China, Grammy Award-winning musician and producer will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas will direct a concert in Beijing later this year to benefit the Initiative. more »
Deputy Spokesperson Toner (July 29): "This indictment's an important milestone, and we call on the Government of Lebanon to continue to meet its obligations under international law to support the special tribunal." more »
![A family stand before a scale in a field hospital of the International Rescue Committee, IRC, in the town of Dadaab, Kenya, July 26, 2011. [AP File Photo]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110801015002im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0727_irc_family_m.jpg)
![Scott Duncan, India Desk Officer, joins officials from NASA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the State Department's Office of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the headquarters of India's space agency, ISRO, in Bangalore, India, July 13-14, 2011. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110801015002im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0726_space_m.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 15, 2011. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110801015002im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0717_irf_turkey_clinton_m.jpg)
![Somalis fleeing hunger in their drought-stricken nation walk along the main road leading from the Somalian border to the refugee camps around Dadaab, Kenya, July 13, 2011. [AP File Photo]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110801015002im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0726_somalia_famine_m.jpg)
![U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter, USAID Mission Director Andrew Sisson, and KP Education Minister Sardar Hussain Babak talk to students from six districts of Malakand and 13 regions and agencies of FATA who benefited from the USAID ED-LINKS project in Islamabad, Pakistan, July 26, 2011. [U.S. Embassy photo/ Public Domain]](https://web.archive.org/web/20110801015002im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2011_0726_pakistan_education_m.jpg)
